Re: Who was a huge Warren Zevon Fan?

Got to take you to task for the Lennon comment, Fredo. Double Fantasy, his
last, was inspirational and I think he had a lot more in him...

but Warren....

I'd tell a newbie to start with the 1976 Warren Zevon self-titled album. To
us old Zevon veterans, look again at the song list and give that album a
spin..... Carmelita, Mohamed's, Hasten, French Inhaler, etc. Wow. The
songs are beautifully crafted. The lyrics are pure Zevon poetry, wit, humor
and cynicism. If you had to pick one disc, I think this is the one the best
captures the essence and genius of Warren Zevon.

As a live performer, I kind of had a love/hate relationship with Warren. The
first few times I saw him were with a band and he completely blew the room
away. Powerful, artistic, rocking shows that were incredible. Similarly, the
first time I saw Warren solo acoustic was at the Bayou in DC in about 1985.
He did two shows that night. I had tickets for the second, but snuck in to
see the first, also. Leaving there I was just blown away how one man could
command the stage and the room with just a 12-string, a 6-string and a
piano. The songs were so powerful, the performances were incredibly intense.

As the years went on, I caught him every time he came through my native
Mpls/St. Paul and enjoyed most of his shows, but in the later years his solo
act became, in my opinion, repetitive and un-inspired. I actually walked out
of one of his First Avenue shows pissed off because it was virtually the
same show I had seen the last two times I had seen him. The worst for me was
when he played with some sort of electronic repeater device where he would
play a few bars that would be recorded and then that would play back and
keep repeating allowing him to accompany himself and add solos, etc. The
first time I saw it, the novelty of it was kind of cool, but it would go on
so long and was so self indulgent - it reminded me of a teenager playing his
guitar in his bedroom - and boring. (After reading the part in the Warren
Zevon biography about Eleanor Mondale, I now know why he might have been
distracted at one of those shows).

After years of psychotherapy, I think I was finally able to come to grips
and find some peace with why those shows later in his career aggravated me
so. I was pissed that Warren was not Bruce Springsteen. From the early days
where Zevon's talent had blown me away (like Bruce was doing at the same
time) I expected albums like Bruce's and concerts like Bruce's. Where I was
expecting him to keep taking it to the next level, in my opinion he seemed
to stagnate. And it pissed me off. Where I wanted to hear the next great new
song, I was getting electronic repeating ad nauseam and Warren mailing it
in.

Again, with the years of therapy, I've finally let Warren off the hook. He
is not Bruce Springsteen...only one person is. He is Warren, and I should
have just enjoyed the shows for what they were and not let my personal
expectations or hopes affect my enjoyment of what it was....probably an
entertaining evening of Warren singing, ahem, his greatest hits once again.
(Maybe at the end of the video for Disorder in the House when Warren says to
Bruce "You ARE him" he is secretly telling me the same thing).

My name is Tom, and I am a huge Warren Zevon Fan






<fvicarel3@xxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1192723541.909105.195210@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
On Oct 17, 10:30 pm, kevinm...@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
I was in High School when the album with "Lawyers, Guns and Money",
"Excitable Boy" and "Wearwolves of London" came out. I had the album
and listened to it, a lot. After that, I never kept up with him and
don't really recall ever hearing any more of his music. I have seen
posts here that reflect that some people here were huge fans of him.
He kind of fell in with Steve Forbert for me. Steve was the first
concert that I ever saw when I was like 15 and I think I had 2 of his
albums in High School, but then never kept up with him.

I was wondering, what some of you liked so much about him and if I
were to decide to go back and pick up a few of his albums, which ones
would you recommend.

<< He kind of fell in with Steve Forbert for me >>

Suse, you wanna hold Kevindown and I"ll hit him first, or vice versa?

J/k (Susan and I are big devotee's of Warren's work.)

He's bigger than Bruce (or certainly as big as,) with me Kevin.
Definitely gets more airplay in my ears than any other aritist, bar
none. His death remains the single greatest loss to music, period in
my book. (yeah, yeah, Lennon, Elvis, whatever....those legends were
all done when they died (except maybe Lowell George) but Warren kept
brining it and brining it and brining it. I'm not talking about
specualting what Hendirx or HOlly "might have" done had they lived
longer, I"m talking ab out who's music I miss the most.

It's WZ, hands down.

As some other post said NO weak spots, no bad songs. Period.

By the way, I really like Steve Forbert alot (and he's great live,
with band or solo) , but no way in hell is he on the Zevonian plane.
Tom Waits, though often less accessible, is maybe the only other
artist I can think of that approaches Warren's singer-songwritier
Iconographic status.

Fredo

-------------------------------------

"I think that when you're in a time of crisi like (our country is)
now, artists are naturally either drawn to projects that speak to that
crisis or they're drawn to projects that go the other way and say 'we
have no troubles.' So ANY art or film during a time of crisis become
politcal. If you're ignoring what's going on, that's a political
statement too. Those sell much easier."
Paul Haggis, 2007



.

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